Last week, Apple announced that it would reveal the complete M4 range, which will include new MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, and iMacs. One significant improvement is the increase to at least 16 GB of RAM across all versions, which is double the RAM available in the previous generation models. This upgrade is essential since on-device AI tasks, such as Apple Intelligence, require a lot of memory. There is also a small enhancement in the CPU area.
MacBook Pro Enhancements
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, each MacBook Pro model will be equipped with a 10-core M4 variant. Previously, this was exclusive to the highest-spec iPad Pro models that had at least 1 TB of storage, while the lower-end versions came with a 9-core CPU. Due to the introduction of 3 GB RAM modules, various memory configurations are now possible, including some unusual options like 28 GB.
New Mac Mini Design
Gurman further states that the new Mac Mini will be significantly smaller than the previous generation and will come with several new I/O options. It can be purchased with the base (9-core) M4 chip or the Apple M4 Pro. On the other hand, the 24-inch iMac will have to stick with the 9-core M4 chip as well. Interestingly, this is the only reference to the M4 Pro, and there has been no mention of the M4 Max. Ideally, the upcoming MacBook Pro models should also feature Pro and Max versions, but this has not been clearly confirmed yet.
Performance Expectations
In terms of performance, the Apple M4 currently outperforms all other Arm-based chips, although the Snapdragon 8 Elite can surpass it in certain benchmarks. We have seen a preview of a M4-equipped MacBook Pro's performance through Geekbench results. Apple is expected to continue leading in single-core performance, but the multi-core performance arena is more competitive.
